Archive for January, 2008

A business trip took me to McAllen Texas last week. Before going, I did a little research and learned that McAllen is in Hidalgo county and that according to TopoZone, Hidalgo county has all of two summits, both a whopping 82 feet in elevation. My experience with the summits around Boston will definitely come in handy in this part of Texas!

Upon arrival in McAllen, I set out to find my hotel and a fine purveyor of Cheeseburgers. I saw a place called WHATABURGER … then saw about 10 more in about 10 minutes and decided it was fate. The next day after work I would visit WHATABURGER and conquer Sunrise Hill in Hidalgo county, Texas.

Sunrise Hill is about 25 miles from my hotel in McAllen and about half way there I picked up a Bacon & Cheese Whatameal at the drive through.

About 15 minutes or so later I arrived at Sunrise Park and read the sign “Park closes at 7pm”. Current time: 7:10pm. Onward! I parked inside the gate and looked at the mountain ahead of me. Now, if the summit elevation is 82 feet as indicated, the land around Sunrise Hill must be 40-50 feet above sea level. Fortunately, I ate the fries while I was driving so I had enough energy to make the ascent. The view from the top was… let’s just say it left me speechless.

The cheeseburger was very good, but I decided not to wait the 12 hours or so to see how nice the sunrise would be.

The memory is fading, but the photos and the fact sheet remain. Let’s see what I can recall…

I visited Fort Collins Colorado in early December for four days of early winter fun. The agenda was basically “wake up, play all day in the snow, eat, drink and be merry; repeat.” Dec 10th, day four of the trip, it was decided that my host, Unorthodox Brew, needed to experience a Cheeseburger Summit. We swung by Wendy’s (I think… more likely that than BK) and picked up 3 jr. bacon cheeseburgers… this would be a two summit day, but in light of her Weight Watchers weigh-in later in the day, U.B. would only be doing one cheeseburger.

Lory State Park was the first destination of the day, and with an energetic puppy Logan on lead, we made our ascent of Arthur’s Rock, elev. 6780 ft. In these photos, we see Logan eying my cheeseburger and licking the wrapper of U.B.’s.

BTW… Unorthodox Brew… a very fitting name on so many levels. There may not be many Jews who will mix meat with dairy, a bit of a pre-requisite for a cheeseburger, but here’s one that will actually insist on adding bacon too! And when I said “eat, drink and be merry”… the fine beers from the New Belgium Brewing Company that we enjoyed were produced (in part) by U.B. Remember that next time you grab a Fat Tire… that beer now has a connection to summit cheeseburgers!

Onward to summit number two at Horsetooth Mtn Park… an ascent of Horsetooth Rock, elev. 7255 ft. The beautiful weather for summit number one was gradually replaced with cloud and wind by the time we neared the second summit. U.B. made a fatalistic footwear change between hikes and was unable to scramble to the summit, but since she didn’t have a 2nd cheeseburger for the summit, it would not impact the day’s statistics. Here we see Fort Collins to the east and future opportunities to the west.

A final note about Horsetooth Rock… there are very friendly and honest people on the trail. While pulling a poo-baggie out of her pocket, U.B.’s phone dropped onto the trail, but she did not realize it until sometime later. We descended the trail slowly, searching for the phone, but without luck until we reached the parking lot, where we discovered that someone had left us a message and present…

I may not have been conquering the highest peaks as of late, but I have been fortunate to claim a few of the more famous ones and expand the Summit Cheeseburger boarders. During my most recent travels, I was sitting in my hotel, glanced down at the complementary map of San Francisco provided by the hotel and immediately realized that crest one of the most famous hills in world was within 6 blocks – straight up California Avenue which was just out side my front door (Currently the Omni Hotel) — Nob Hill, of course, This HAD to be done; and, in the end, it was. As it turned out, it was one of the steepest hikes I had done it quite some time. Thank god I was virtually AT sea level. I needed the the richer air. It was only 6, may 8 blocks, but it was straight up the sorts of roads that have made San francisco famous. In fact, it was straight up on one of the main cable car routes – an icon of San Fran (see pictures). I was accompanied by typical San Fran winter weather – overcast and a light drizzle. I swear the weather worsened as approached the summit, but my impressions may be distorted by my fatigue. My formal business attire, including a tie and dress shoes, did not add in a pleasurable sort of way to the experience, but felt oddly appropriate. I passed several notable landmarks – China Town, The Ritz Carlton, the Intercontinental, the Masonic Temple (who ARE those guys and WHAT is it they think anyway?) and the Grace Cathedral – beautiful, I peeked inside. At the summit, I enjoyed a $1 double cheeseburger from MacDonalds. It was actually quite pleasent; it was still warm, I purchased it a one block into the hike.I claim the first Summit done wearing a Tie! I have left the the novelty of the cable car for those to follow. Nob Hill – Patrick

Has the excessive drinking and eating associated with the holiday season left you feeling tired, out-of-shape, overweight? Are the short winter days and the frigid temperatures keeping you indoors? Make a New Year’s resolution to get more exercise this year – and start it out with a sack of Cheeseburgers and a winter ascent of a local peak. As everyone knows, the path to fitness travels directly past the grill and requires the sustenance provided by a hearty meat and cheese sandwich.

On today’s ascent, fryingelvis and sirloinofbeef brought along a pair of drunken Cheeseburgers. Two all-beef burgers topped with onions and mushrooms that had been sauted in butter and deglazed with dry vermouth. Topped with a reduced fat, smoke flavor-added, provolone cheese they provided the necessary energy for a beginning-of-the-year, springboard-to-fitness hike. The burgers had been microwaved just prior to leaving the house but the combination of 10 degree temperatures and slow hiking produced an ice-cold Cheeseburger breakfast. Fortunately the burger meat had been mixed with bread crumbs prior to cooking so no teeth were lost during the meal.

The target was City Creek Peak, which was the (unsummitted) target of the last hike of 2007 (see previous post). A slight error in navigation had resulted in an ascent of nearby Lime Peak. Learning from the previous hike, flyingpelvis and sirloinof beef headed straight for City Creek Peak like a laser beam. A series of false summits turned a trickle of whine from fryingpelvis into a raging torrent. We ventured on through the 10 degree heat and knee-high snowdrifts to the radio/TV towers at the summit of City Creek Peak. Fortification with drunken Cheesburgers spurred us on to a rapid descent back to the car – and just in time to make it to work that morning!